First Associate Travels to Botswana
With the Associate relationship blooming in the United States, Belize, and India, one SCN Associate felt called to minister in a new way. In September 2000, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth had begun ministry in Botswana. Virginia “Tootsie” Gish, SCNA, traveled to Botswana in August 2005 as part of a process to determine whether or not she was called to long-term ministry in the African country. She was the first SCN Associate to visit Botswana. She ministered alongside the Sisters until December, when she returned to the United States to complete her discernment by experiencing a cross-cultural program.^[119] Tootsie’s call to Botswana was strong. She sold her house and all of her belongings in order to return to live and minister in Botswana for two years. Arriving in June 2006, she lived in Kanye where she was given charge of the preschool in Ntlhantlhe. The Botswana community could not have been more thrilled, “…that the first Associate in full time ministry has come to Botswana.”^[120] A few months after Tootsie’s return to Botswana, a second SCN Associate, Pat MacIssac, made her way there to aid in ministry for three months as part of the Global Exchange Program.^[121] Tootsie would ultimately stay in Botswana far longer than the initially planned two years, remaining in ministry Botswana until 2014.^[122]

Progress and Changing Times
Over her seven years as full-time Associate Director, Sister Marilyn Shea embraced the incredible progress made by her predecessors and lifted the Associate relationship to new heights. She continued the formation process established by Sister Marlene, organizing, with the Core Council, several formation events. Sister Marilyn published the first Associate Handbook, providing an incredible resource to everyone involved with the Associate relationship, and, with the Core Council, oversaw and planned for the third SCN Associate convocation. As the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth governance structure shifted, Sister Marilyn guided the Associates through the changes. Towards the end of this second term as Associate Director, Sister Marilyn discussed with the Core Council the possibility of naming an Associate, rather than a Sister, as the next Director. The Council agreed and the recommendation that an Associate be considered for the Director position was submitted to the Executive Committee. Once the recommendation was approved, Sister Marilyn prepared for this change in leadership by holding area meetings with Associates to discuss the process for discerning whether they were called to serve as Director.^[123]

First Lay Associate Director, Peggy Masterson
Peggy Masterson (now Ryan), an SCN Associate since 1992, was among those called to consider serving in the position of Associate Director. She recalled that, “This required serious discernment and prayer. When the Day of Discernment was completed, I felt free to respond and was willing to accept this call if I was selected for it.”^[124] Peggy was selected to be the first lay Director of the SCN Associates. She officially stepped into her new role on August 1, 2006, bringing with her all of the experience gained from her degrees in Religious Studies and Psychology, her decades of catechetical ministry in the Archdiocese of Louisville, her role on the Archdiocesan Adult Faith Formation Committee, and many more talents and blessings.^[125]

New Associates in India
Sisters and Associates were busy in India as well. The Kalimpong unit of the SCN Associates in India began in 2006 when two priests, Fathers Lawrence Monteiro and John Lazardo, expressed their interest in becoming Associates. In 2007, Sister Rita Puthenkalam led orientation sessions to initiate the Associate relationship in Banakal and Bangalore. Ten people participated in the session in Banakal and six in Bangalore. Sister Rita also held an Associate orientation session for six people in Kathmandu, Nepal, where the SCNs had been in ministry since 1979.^[126]

While Sister Rita worked to bring people from multiple locations into the Associate relationship, the Associates in the United States also sought ways to support the Associates in places geographically distant from Nazareth. The annual SCN/A vacation held at Camp Maria Retreat Center in Leonardtown, Maryland took place in July 2007. Those attending included seven from India.^[127] Peggy Masterson and Sister Kitty Wilson also led a retreat in Wakefield, Massachusetts on the topic of “Vincentian Spirituality: Integrating Spiritual Growth With Our On-going Call to Mission.”^[128] Both Sisters Kitty and Peggy were touched by the warmth and hospitality they experienced while in Wakefield.

First Botswanan Associates
The energy and momentum of the SCN Associates in 2007 had taken root in Botswana as well. The five Sisters ministering in Botswana, Patricia (Pat) Huitt, Ann Muthukattil, Nalini Meachariyil, Vinaya Chalil, and Prisca Bilung, along with Tootsie Gish, SCNA, had expressed their desire to begin the Associate relationship in Botswana. A planning team consisting of Sister Nalini, Sister Pat, and Tootsie researched the Sodalities in Botswana and how SCN Associates could make an impact in Botswana, completing their investigation by February 2007.[129] On April 28, the first SCN Associate event in Botswana, an orientation session, was held in Kanye.[130] A few weeks later, on June 3, seven women participated in a formation event led by the visiting Sister Marilyn Shea who shared a presentation on “The Laity’s Call to Mission and Holiness.”^[131] “Throughout the day, the women demonstrated an eagerness to learn, a hunger for a deeper spirituality, and a sincere desire to use their talents in the service of others. When asked why they accepted the invitation to consider becoming SCN Associates, they immediately cited example after example of the ways that Tootsie Gish, SCNA, and the Sisters had helped them, the sacrifices they had made to come to Botswana, and, most importantly, the great love with which they carried out their respective ministries.”^[132] With the founding of the SCN Associates in Botswana and Nepal in 2007, the SCN Associate relationship had been established in all five of the countries where the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth ministered at that time.

Growth in Belize and India
Belize shared in the growth and unity of the SCN Associates at this time. In January 2007, Ann-Marie Houghton, SCNA, and others had traveled to Belize to serve the people there.^[133] Later that year, on August 25, the first Associates from Belize City – Sonia Ayuso, Delilah “Alice” Cabb, Virgin and Mathew Martinez, Georgia “Flores” Parchue, and Emelita Reyes – made their initial commitments.^[134] In January 2008, Associates Patsy O’Toole, Cathy Lavender, and Father Jim Graf, along with Candidate Evelyn Faldowski and Inquirer Marian Zsigray traveled with a group of SCN Lay Volunteers on an immersion experience to Belize. While there, the group developed close ties with the Sisters and Associates who lived and ministered in Belize and with the country as a whole.^[135]

The Associate relationship in India continued to grow, despite challenges such as geographical distance and the fact that many SCNs ministered in non-Catholic areas where it was not feasible to introduce the Associate relationship. By March 2008, each local community of Associates in India had an SCN contact person. Associates from the various units participated in both provincial level and local Congregation celebrations and worked in ministry with the Sisters when possible. Many groups also made time to pray together as often as they could. Given the unique challenges the Associates in India faced, Associate Coordinator Sister Rita felt that the overall response had been, “rather encouraging.”^[136]

Written by Kelly McDaniels, Archivist, SCNA
2022

A history this multifaceted could not have been wrangled into a coherent document without the help of many. I am immensely grateful to all of those who have assisted in any way. First and foremost, a huge thank you to Mary Martin, SCNA, for giving me a solid basis for what to include in this history and for painstakingly reviewing each and every draft. Thank you to Sister Maria Vincent Brocato for interviewing multiple SCN Associates as part of this project, to Sister Malini Manjaly, Archivist in Mokama, for helping me piece together the history of the Associates in India, and to Sister Nalini Meachariyil for helping me with the history of the Associates in Botswana. My thanks as well to Tammy Mattingly, SCNA and Administrative Assistant of the Associate Office, for answering a million and more questions; and to my many wonderful readers (listed below) who have helped with grammar, clarity, and adding a richness to this story that I could not have achieved on my own. Thank you to all of those who contributed their memories and beautiful stories from the past fifty years: Evelyn Faldowski, SCNA; Mary Gene Frank, SCNA; Sister Paschal Maria Fernicola; Sister Barbara Flores; Sister Rhoda Kay Glunk; Charlotte Hazas, SCNA; Sister Beverly Hoffman; Donna Kenney; Sister Rosemarie Kirwan; Sister Marlene Lehmkuhl; Trudi Maish, SCNA; Andy Meyer, SCNA; Jo Ann Paulin, SCNA; Peggy Masterson Ryan, SCNA; Sister Marilyn Shea; and many others who shared a story in passing. Finally, thank you to each and every person whom I have peppered with questions or who has listened to me obsess over this impossibly tangled history for the past several months.

Reviewed and proofread by: Maria Vincent Brocato, SCN; Sharon Cecil, SCNA; Mary Gene Frank, SCNA; Charlotte Hazas, SCNA; Josef Jareczek, Ph.D., best friend of the Archivist; Sister Marlene Lehmkuhl; Mary Martin, SCNA; and Sister Marilyn Shea.

Source: https://nazareth.org/

Note on sources: Sources used in this history can be located at the Nazareth Archival Center, SCN Center, or on the SCN Family website.

^[119] Muthukattil, Ann. History of SCNs in Botswana – A Dream Come True. 2007, p. 3; Shea, Marilyn. “SCN Associate to go to Botswana.” SCN Western Province Associate Newsletter. No. 10. July 2005. p. 1.

^[120] Muthukattil, Ann. History of SCNs in Botswana – A Dream Come True. 2007, p. 10; Shea, Marilyn. “New SCN Associate Director.” SCN Western Province Associate Newsletter. No. 13. July 2006. p. 1; McAllister, Marie. “Retired teacher sells all, heads to Africa.” The Record. 22 June 2006.

^[121] Shea, Marilyn. “New SCN Associate Director.” SCN Western Province Associate Newsletter. No. 13. July 2006. p. 1.

^[122] Hurst, Spalding. “Encountering God in Botswana.” SCN News. 1 Aug. 2014.

^[123] Shea, Marilyn. “Succession Planning.” SCN Western Province Associate Newsletter. No. 10. July 2005. p. 2; Shea, Marilyn. Response to Interview Questions. 14 Sep. 2021.

^[124] Ryan, Peggy Masterson. Interviewed by Maria Vincent Brocato. 10 Nov. 2021

^[125] Shea, Marilyn. “New SCN Associate Director.” SCN Western Province Associate Newsletter. No. 13. July 2006. p. 1.

^[126] Thayilchirayil, Anne Marie. Impelled by the Love of Christ: Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in Nepal. (Art-Print & Publishing Company, 2014), p. 5; Puthenkalam, Rita. Eastern Province Report of SCNA. 12 Mar. 2008. SCN Archival Center. SCN Associate Collection, file A.008, “History – India SCNAs”.

^[127] Masterson, Peggy. “Associate Happenings.” SCN Western Province Associate Newsletter. No. 15. Feb. 2007. p. 2.

^[128] “Vincentian Spirituality: Integrating Spiritual Growth With Our On-going Call to Mission” Program. 4 Nov. 2007. SCN Archival Center. SCN Associate Collection, file K.019, “Weekends & Retreats – Nov. 2007 ‘Vincentian Spirituality: Integrating Spiritual Growth With Our On-going Call to Mission’”; Masterson, Peggy. “Boston Associates and SCNs.” SCN Western Province Associate Newsletter. No. 17. 16 Nov. 2007. p. 2.

[129] Meachariyil, Nalini. History of SCN Associates in Botswana. 21 Jan. 2022.

[130] SCN Annals, Lobastse, Botswana. 28 Apr. 2007; Meachariyil, Nalini. History of SCN Associates in Botswana. 21 Jan. 2022.

^[131] Masterson, Peggy. “Associate beginning in Botswana.” SCN Western Province Associate Newsletter. No. 16. July 2007. p. 2.

^[132] “Pula! SCN Associate Relationship Begins in Botswana.” SCN Archival Center. SCN Associate Collection, file A.007, “History.”

^[133] Masterson, Peggy. “Associates in Botswana and Belize.” SCN Western Province Associate Newsletter. No. 14. 9 Nov. 2006. p. 2.

^[134] “Belize SCN Associate Retreat.” SCN Newsline. 9 Aug. 2007; Fernicola, Pascal Maria, Barbara Flores, Beverly Hoffman, and Rosemarie Kirwan. History of SCN Associates in Belize. 14 Jan. 2022.

^[135] Masterson, Peggy. “SCN Associates in Ministry in Belize, Haiti, and Botswana.” SCN Western Province Associate Newsletter. No. 18. March 2008. p. 1.

^[136] Puthenkalam, Rita. Eastern Province Report of SCNA. 12 Mar. 2008. SCN Archival Center. SCN Associate Collection, file A.008, “History – India SCNAs”.